Seoul, Sept 6, 2012 (AFP) - The Korean-American, from California, made the most of his OneAsia invitation to go one shot clear of Australian Matthew Griffin and South Korean Kim Bong-Jin.
Kang shot seven birdies and a lone bogey in near-perfect conditions on the country's highest course in the picturesque mountains of Gangwon-do province.
"The putts rolled in so it was a pretty good round. I'm pretty pleased with the effort," he said, according to a press released from OneAsia.
"I practised pretty hard and worked on my game a lot before coming here. I have a game plan and I'm just going to stick with it. Let's see where that puts me."
Griffin, who was rated the third best amateur in the world when he turned professional in 2008, said he had been working hard on his game and improving his swing.
"I think if I can get my putter going, and improve my ball striking, then I will be right there," he said.
Tournament favourite Kim Bi-O, who leads the Order of Merit, finished level par, while Ryan Fox, the son of New Zealand All Black rugby legend Grant Fox, finished one under in his first-ever OneAsia start.
Top 10 scores after round one of High1 Resort Open:
66 - Jason KANG
67 - Matthew GRIFFIN, Bong-jin KIM
68 - Min-kyu HAN, Tae-kyu KWON,
69 - Sang-hyun PARK, Min-geun CHO, Hyun-bin PARK, In-hoi HUR, Ju-hyuk PARK